1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image recording apparatus which is capable of recording images on a recording medium at a low cost by the use of fluid ink.
2. Related Background Art
Today, as recording systems for information processing which are capable of recording on plain paper, there have been developed various types such as an impact printer, an electrophotographic printer, a laser beam printer and a thermosensitive transfer type printer.
Among these, the thermosensitive transfer type recording apparatus has been widely used because of its low noise and its capability of being made compact. This recording system uses an ink ribbon comprising a base sheet having heat-meltable ink applies thereonto, and heats the ink ribbon into the form of an image pattern by a recording head to thereby transfer the melted ink to a recording sheet, and it has merits such as low noise, the capability of being made into a relatively compact apparatus and low cost of the apparatus.
However, such conventional thermosensitive transfer system is not free of problems. In the conventional thermosensitive transfer system, when manufacturing the ink ribbon, heat-meltable ink must be applied to a heat-resisting base sheet by a complicated process. Also, this ink ribbon must be discarded after used only once for recording, and this has led to a problem such as a high running cost.
So, as a means for eliminating the above-noted problems, the applicant has proposed a recording apparatus in which fluid ink is transported in the form of a film by ink transport means, predetermined energy is selectively applied to this ink to form an ink image endowed with tackiness in the form of an image pattern and this ink image is transferred to recording medium (Japanese Patent Application No. 61-175191).
According to this recording apparatus, it is unnecessary to use an ink ribbon as in the conventional thermosensitive transfer system, and only the ink forming an ink image is transferred to the recording medium and the ink which does not form the ink image can be repetitively used.
The applicant, claiming priority based on the aforementioned Japanese Patent Application No. 61-175191 (filed on Jul. 25, 1986), Japanese Patent Application No. 61-216752 (filed on Sept. 13, 1986), Japanese Patent Application No. 62-1709 (filed on Jan. 9, 1987), Japanese Patent Application No. 62-98590 (filed on Apr. 23, 1987) and Japanese Patent Application No. 62-131584 (filed on May 29, 1987) and uniting these Japanese applications, filed a U.S. application (Ser. No. 75,045, filed in U.S. on Jul. 17, 1987, U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,084), a German application (No. 3724576.7, filed in Germany on Jul. 24, 1987), a French application (No. 87-10576, filed in France on Jul 24, 1978) and a British application (No. 87-17565, filed in Great Britain on Jul. 24, 1987).
The invention of the present application which will hereinafter be described has been further developed from the inventions covered by the applicant's aforementioned Japanese, U.S., German, French and British applications. The invention of the present application which will hereinafter be described permits the image recording ink and the image recording method made clear in the specifications of the aforementioned applications to be suitably applied thereto.